Tag Archives: Abducted

Police investigate shooting, abduction of farmers in Enugu

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Police have commenced investigation into the alleged shooting of a farmer and abduction of two other farmers by suspected gunmen in Enugu State.

The police spokesman in Enugu State, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Enugu that the incident took place at Akpakume-Nze Community in Igbo-Etiti Council Area.

According to him, the incident happened at about 12 noon on Tuesday, while the victims were weeding their farms.

“It was gathered that yet to be identified gunmen had allegedly shot one Lazarus Amadi, who had gone to farm and injuring him as well as abducting two other farmers.

“The command mobilised and went into the farmland where the injured Lazarus Amadi was rescued and taken to a hospital where he is responding to treatment,’’ he said.

It remains unclear if the attack was carried out by herdsmen, who have been accused of such in recent months.

The leader of Hausa Community in Enugu State, Alhaji Abubakar Sambo, last week revealed why the state is prone to attacks from Fulani herdsmen.

But Amaraizu said that police operatives in partnership with members of the community embarked on intense manhunt with a view to rescue the abducted farmers identified as Paul Ugwu and Hycenith Eze.

“After a day intense manhunt by the police operatives with members of the local communities, the two abducted persons were rescued and returned to their families unhurt,’’ he said.

Boko Haram Stalls Prisoner Swap With Abducted Chibok Girls

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Fresh facts have emerged on why President Muhammadu Buhari has remained steadfast on his position that the federal government would only negotiate for the release of the abducted Chibok girls with those who are directly holding them.

It has emerged that two recent attempts in recent weeks by the Federal Government for prisoners swap with the so called representative of the terror group may have reached a dead end as each time security officials arrive at designated locations with Boko Haram prisoners for the swap, Boko Haram representatives fail to show up as they are required to produce at least 50 verifiable Chibok girls for the first wave of the swap, security officials say.

Two hundred and seventy six girls were kidnapped from their school dormitory on April 14, 2014, and although 59 were able to escape, one recently, 217 have remained in captivity, sparking global outrage over their abduction.

It was gathered that the federal government had through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), in conjunction with the Directorate of the State Service (DSS), have in the last two weeks reached back channels agreements with some on the leadership of the sect on the venue, date and other logistics necessary to facilitate the swap of identified Boko Haram prisoners from specific prisons for the Chibok girls.

The source familiar with the back channel deal said at the appointed time and date, when all was set and the identified prisoners were moved to the location slated for the swap, neither the Boko Haram representatives, its commanders nor the Chibok girls were anywhere near the vicinity, prompting the federal government to return the Boko Haram prisoners to their prison cells.

Boko Haram’s inability to deliver the girls, the security source revealed is frustrating the federal government’s efforts to recover the girls.

Given its propensity for reneging on its promise, the source said that the development informed the president’s insistence that, going forward, although the federal government remains open to negotiations with the sect for the release of the Chibok girls, his administration would only contemplate further negotiations with any group within the sect’s bona fide leadership who are in possession of the girls as that would have to provide proof of life, as well as verifiable guarantees through credible 3rd parties, including the Red Cross, that they know the whereabouts of the girls.

It is the same reason, the source added, that Buhari two days ago asked the sect to nominate an internationally recognised non-governmental organisation (NGO) that would negotiate on its behalf for the release of the girls.

Read More: thisdaylive

New Zealand PM Rules Out Ransom For Citizen Abducted In Nigeria

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New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, on Thursday ruled out paying a ransom as a long-held government standing for a New Zealander abducted a day earlier by gunmen in southern Nigeria.

He said at a press conference in Wellington that there was no chance of the government paying a ransom for the release of New Zealander being held hostage in Nigeria.

Key said the compromise would only put a bounty on the head of any New Zealander working in a volatile region and make the situation worse.

Gunmen took at least three foreign contractors, including one New Zealander and two Australians working for an Australian mining company early Wednesday morning and killed their driver on the outskirts of Calabar.

Key said it’s likely the kidnapping was random motivated rather than an act of a terrorist organisation.

“The kidnappers are yet to contact police or make any request.

Meanwhile, The Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said the Australian High Commissioner in Nigeria is at the scene while New Zealand has no diplomatic mission in the country limiting its capacity to coordinate the rescue.

He said the Australian mining company MacMahon, has been working with Nigerian government to resolve the situation as New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs was receiving updates on the situation.

Credit: NAN

Six Abducted Chibok Schoolgirls ‘Dead’

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Six of the 219 Chibok schoolgirls abducted in 2014 by Boko Haram are dead, activists and local officials have quoted one of the girls rescued Tuesday as saying.

Nineteen-year-old Amina Nkek was rescued in Kulakaisa village at the fringes of Sambisa forest, by a Chibok vigilante group, the sources said.

A source familiar with the rescue said Ms. Nkek was breast feeding a child.

After she was taken to Chibok, where she was identified by her parents, Ms. Nkek told the community leaders that “all the girls are in Sambisa forest, but six of them had died”, a source said.

The source quoted Ms. Nkek as saying that the remaining girls were “well secured and protected” to stop the Nigerian Army from rescuing them.

He added that the girl was taken to the army unit in Damboa, Borno state.

The army said in a statement that “one of the abducted chibok school girls, Falmata Mbalala, was among the rescued persons by our troops at Baale near Damboa”.

The statement, signed by army spokesperson, Sani Usman, did not say why the names differed.

Credit: PremiumTimes

NNPC Staff Abducted By Gunmen

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A staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), identified as Yusuf Abdulkadir has been reportedly abducted by unknown gunmen in Kaduna.
Abdulkadir, who is a staff in the NNPC Abuja office was said to have been abducted on Saturday at his residence in Rigachiku, Igabi local government area of Kaduna State.
It was gathered that the incident occurred at about 10pm on Saturday when he was whisked away to an unknown destination.
According to a family source, the gunmen trailed him while he was returning to his house and picked him up.
”They trailed him to the house yesterday dragged him out of his car at gun point and whisked him away.
”He works at NNPC Towers, Abuja, but on weekends, drives to Kaduna, where his family members reside,” the source added.
The matter has been reported to police but efforts to reach the Kaduna Police Public Relations Officer, Zubairu Abubakar on the development proved abortive as his phone was switched off as at the time of filing this report.
Three clergymen, Dr Emmanuel Dziggau, Yakubu Talba Dzarma and Iliya Anto who eventually died in his abductors’ custody, were kidnapped on March 21 while another Colonel Samaila Inusa was abducted and killed on 26th of March, 2016, in the state.

Credit: Nation

Why I Didn’t Call Jonathan After Chibok Girls Were Abducted By Boko Haram- Shettima

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Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has said he did not call former President Goodluck Jonathan to brief him after Boko Haram abducted over 200 school girls from Chibok, because he knew that security agencies must have briefed the president of the development the day it happened.

Mr. Shettima said as president, Mr. Jonathan had wide resources to keep him abreast of serious national security issues on a daily basis.

Mr. Shettima was responding to an inquiry which sought to determine why the governor waited for almost three weeks expecting the president to reach out to him over a major incident that happened in his domain.

The governor had said recently that Mr. Jonathan took 19 days to telephone him to ask about the abduction.

He made the remark while receiving former President Olusegun Obasanjo whom he praised as having a better record of contacting governors of crisis- prone states on a daily basis.

“In our own case, Your Excellency, after the Chibok abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April, 2014, it took 19 days for me to receive a call from the Presidency,” Mr. Shettima said to Mr. Obasanjo.

Analysts have accused the governor of not also taking the security of his state serious enough to have to wait for the president to call, and not contact him.

Mr. Shettima spoke through his Special Adviser on Communication, Isa Gusau, who assured that his comments were the governor’s position.

Mr. Gusau said he “had it on good authority that President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was well briefed by security agencies soon after the abduction and this is to be expected given the magnitude and for the fact that as at that time, Borno was under a State of Emergency as declared by the president, which made him directly in charge of security issues in Borno and happenings there”.

“So, ?when the Chibok abduction took place on April 14, 2014, Governor Kashim Shettima who is Chairman of the State Security Councils remained within Borno State as he was expected to do, to build public confidence and presided over series of daily security council meetings held at the Government House in Maiduguri  to analyze the situation and developments, to identify strategies and to coordinate deployment of security responses to containing the emergency,” he said.

Credit: Premiumtimes

After Ten Days In Captivity, Abducted Clergymen Freed In Kaduna

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The president of the United Church of Christ in Nigeria, Rev. Emmanuel Dziggau and two other clergymen who were abducted along the Kaduna-Abuja expressway by armed gunmen have regained their freedom after 10 days in captivity.

Dziggau, Rev. Yakubu Dzarma and Rev. Iliya Anto were abducted on March 21 along the highway where they had gone to clear a piece of land for the foundation of the church seminary.

However, Anto was said to have died after he was left in the bush by the kidnappers because of his poor health.
A top official of the United Church of Christ who pleaded anonymity said Dziggau and Dzarma were freed on Wednesday night while the corpse of Anto was found, almost decomposing in the bush.

According to the official, the two clergymen were immediately taken to a private hospital in Kaduna after they were brought to the church along Katsina Road, Kaduna.

“They were not looking very good and as soon as they brought them, a decision was taken that they needed to see a doctor, so they were taken to a private hospital in Kaduna for medical checkups, but I will not tell you the hospital because they need some rest.

“We don’t want people to disturb them until they are psychologically and physically fit to see people,” the source explained.

According to him, “The person who went to collect them, rode them on a bike from where they dropped them off for four hours before they could reach a motorable road. This was very traumatic and they need some rest.”
The source explained that Anto’s corpse was found in the bush after he was abandoned by the kidnappers because of his ill health.

He said a day after their abduction, the kidnappers had called to say that Anto was not well and they had dropped him at a location in the bush.

“But when we dispatched people to the location to save him, we couldn’t find him after combing the area. The kidnappers who may have been watching us from their hideout said we sent too many people to pick him, so they refused to give further description of the location and we thought they must have gone with him,” he said.

The source however declined to state whether a ransom was paid for the release of the two clergymen who regained their freedom.

After their release, hundreds of church members and well wishers trooped to the church on Katsina road to see the clergymen.

Credit: thisdaylive

Human Rights Watch Slams FG Over Silence On 300 Abducted Damasak Children

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Global watchdog, Human Rights Watch, has slammed the federal government over its unacceptable silence on the abduction of 300 children from Damasak, Borno State.

In a press statement, the organization urged the government to “take urgent steps to secure the release of about 400 women and children, including at least 300 elementary school students, abducted by Boko Haram from the town of Damasak in Borno State a year ago”.

“Damasak is the largest documented school abduction by Boko Haram militants. Yet, it has drawn far less public attention than the group’s widely condemned abduction of 276 schoolgirls from a government secondary school in Chibok in April 2014. While 57 of those girls managed to escape, 219 remain captive almost two years later,” the statement added.

The group said that the children have been missing for a year, and yet there has been no word from the Nigerian government, according to Mausi Segun, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“The authorities need to wake up and find out where the Damasak children and other captives are and take urgent steps to free them,” he added.

On November 24, 2014, Boko Haram attacked Damasak, a trading town about 200 kilometers northwest of Maiduguri, near the border with Niger, blocking all four roads leading into the town and trapping residents and traders.

The insurgents quickly occupied Zanna Mobarti Primary School, shutting the gates and locking more than 300 students, ages 7 to 17, inside, according to a teacher at the school and other witnesses that Human Rights Watch interviewed.

The Boko Haram militants then used the school as a military base, bringing scores of other women and children abducted across the town there as captives.

Credit: Thisday

How Police Rescued Abducted Lagos School Girls Without Ransom

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After six harrowing days in the custody of kidnappers, three abducted students of Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Ikorodu, Lagos, yesterday, breathed the air of freedom. The girls were rescued in Imota, another town on the outskirt of Ikorodu, after intricate police moves that started with the arrest of one of the suspects, last Friday.

The girls- Timilehin Olusa, Tofunmi Popo and Deborah Akinayo, were abducted last Monday in their school, an act that outraged the nation. The news of their release provoked spontaneous jubilation in their school.

Though they were not publicly presented after their rescue, it was gathered that the girls were not molested by the kidnappers. To ascertain their health status, police authorities reportedly took them to an undisclosed hospital for medical examination after their rescue.

However, a suspected member of the gang that abducted the girls and two other accomplices have been arrested by security agents. Eleven other suspected members of the 12-man gang were said to be at large and police are still on their trail. The picture of one of the two conspirators paraded, according to the police, is on the registration Subscriber Identity Module, SIM, of his phone.

It was also gathered that one of the arrested kidnappers, a prime suspect, Emmanuel Arigidi, led police operatives to secure the release of the abducted girls somewhere at Imota.

Confirming the news, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Steve Ayorinde, said no ransom was paid. He blamed the crime on some pipeline vandals who he said had been sent out of business by security agencies.

Meanwhile, it was jubilation galore, yesterday, at the school as parents and students expressed appreciation to Almighty God over the release of the three female students.

This came as a militant leader simply called ‘General Ossy’ made frantic calls, Saturday, exonerating his group from the abduction saga. He, however, vowed that his group would continue to engage in vandalism, boasting that no security force could flush them out of existence.

While parading the three suspects at the Lagos State Government House, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday, the obviously elated governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, commended the gallant effort of the Nigeria Police and other security operatives in the rescue of the girls.

Ambode said: “In the early hours of today, (yesterday), the Lagos State Police Command, the Department of State Service, DSS, and members of the Armed forces worked tirelessly round the clock in the last six days to secure the release of the children. I thank them for a good job. “The three girls have been safely re-united with their families and the government wishes to assure Lagosians that their security is top priority and it will not relent in ensuring that Lagos remains safe and secure.”

The governor, therefore, warned that the state government would not tolerate kidnapping or any form of crime in the state. “Our position is clear and unambiguous. Lagos State has the capacity and the will to go after every form of crime and criminality in order to safeguard lives and property in the state.

“As our daughters are re-united with their mothers and other members of their families, I would like to seize this opportunity to wish all mothers in Lagos State and Nigeria at large a happy “Mothers’ Day.”

Credit: Vanguard

 

 

14 Year Old “Abducted” Ese Is 5 Months Pregnant

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14 year old Ese Rita Oruru, the Bayelsa born girl child who was abducted by Yunusa Dahiru, alias Yellow but rescued by the Police in Kano, has been discovered to be about 5 months pregnant, according to very reliable sources.

Consequently, it was gathered that the white Hijab dress she wore on her arrival from Kano on Tuesday, was used to cover the pregnancy even though her physical condition and looks created a suspicion.

Reports say that it was the condition in which Police authorities discovered about Ese that informed the IGP, Solomon Arase’s directive that she should be handed over to the Gender and Child Protection Unit and later, a team from the Medical Department of the Force to carry out a comprehensive medical examination of the girl-child at the Police Medical Facility in Area 1, Garki.

Upon certifying her medical status and emotional state, reports gathered that the Inspector General of Police feeling uncomfortable with the transport arrangement of the mother that they return by road, cancelled the arrangement and directed that both Ese and her mother be flown to Yenegoa by air. Consequently, it was told that Yunusa will be moved to Yenegoa to face interrogation and prosecution for kidnapping and child abuse as well as violence.

Credit: Vanguard

“Abducted” Bayelsa Girl Leaves Kano Under Tight Security

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Ese Oruru, the teenager who was abducted from her Bayelsa home and moved to Kano for a forced marriage to one Yunusa Yellow, has left Kano and is on her way to the police headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

The spokesperson for the Zone 1 Police Command, Rabilu Ringim, told a reporter who visited his office that a police team conveying Miss Oruru to the police headquarters in Abuja left Kano by road at 6 a.m. on Tuesday.

The team, he said, comprised an assistant commissioner of police and other top ranking officers who were travelling under tight security.

“They are on their way already, and the parents are expected in Abuja today where they would be reunited,” Mr. Ringim said. “She is being taken to Abuja based on the express instruction of the IG.”

The police spokesperson said Miss Oruru was taken thorough medical check late Monday night to enable her to commence her journey back home early on Tuesday morning.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Ex-President Jonathan’s Relative, Abducted With Uncle, Found Dead

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Fishermen in Otuoke, Bayelsa State, on Friday recovered the body of a cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan, who was abducted alongside the former leader’s uncle, Chief Inegite Jonathan, witnesses said.

Relatives said the body of Samuel Oki, 35, was found floating on Otuoke river, two days after the abduction.

The police spokesperson for Bayelsa State, Asini Butswat, said he was aware of the report, but could not immediately confirm its details. He said he was working to receive briefings from the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area.

Armed gunmen had on Wednesday abducted 72-year-old Chief Inegite Jonathan, President Jonathan’s uncle and foster father, but the kidnap of Mr. Oki was not immediately noticed until several hours later.

Fishermen in Otuoke community on Friday discovered his decomposing body, raising fears about the safety of the former president’s 72-year-old uncle, whose whereabout was still unknown by Friday afternoon.

A family member of the deceased, Igbogamini Paul, said both men were kidnapped on Wednesday.

Mr. Paul said they believe that a gunshot they heard during the abduction was targeted at Mr. Oki.

He expressed sadness over the incident.

Villagers said local fishermen recovered the body and anchored it by the riverside to prevent the body from being carried away by water currents.

The body had been deposited at a morgue in the area.

Credit: PremiumTimes

Abducted Olomoro Traditional Ruler Released

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The Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Celestina Kalu, has confirmed the release of the kidnapped traditional ruler, Odio Ologbo of Olomoro Kingdom, HRM Omosioni Aghaza.

The Olomoro was abducted on Friday, February 29, from his palace and taken away in a dark-green Range Rover SUV.

According to the Police PRO, the monarch was recovered by combined efforts of Police and vigilante while conducting a guided search in a bush around Sapele area.

The victim has been escorted to his palace where he has since reunited with his family.

Meanwhile efforts are being made to arrest the miscreants.

Barely a week earlier, the traditional ruler of Ubulu-Uku, Obi Akaeze Ofulue the III, was found dead in the thick bush of Umunede, Ika Local Government Area after being held for about two weeks by his abductors.

Credit: ChannelsTv

I6 Persons Abducted From Chibok Again, Community Releases Names

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The Chibok community has identified and released the names of the 16 persons abducted from the community on Sunday and called on the federal government and the security operatives to go into action and rescue them before their case becomes like that of the Chibok girls.

Speaking at the #BringBackOurGirls group sit-out yesterday, the chairman of the Chibok community in Abuja, Tsambido Hosea Abana said that their people back home confirmed the attack on the community and identified some men and woman, who were taken.

Part of the message sent noted that on September 20, at about 5am, some people, believed to be members of the Boko Haram sect attacked Kuburyivu village in Chibok LGA of Borno State, killing three persons and took away, in captive, 16 young men and women.

The statement added that those killed include Yaga Allaji, Ayuba Nkeki and Fali Mingla; while those abducted included Ngwaladu Muta, Bindu Mallum, Grace Watsai, Noami Yohanna, Ali Muta, Mohammed Sadiq.

Others are Lawan Sadiq, Lugwa Lalai, Mary Yohanna, Nkeki Ishaya, Glory Maigali, Patuma Dibal, Kwatuwa Dibal and Saraya Dibal.

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Sun DMD Speaks On How Kidnappers Abducted His Wife & Ransom Required

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The deputy managing director (DMD) cum editor-in-chief of The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr Steve Nwosu, yesterday told a pathetic story of how armed robbers attacked him and his wife, Toyin, before kidnapping her from their residence in Amuwo-Odofin local government area of Lagos State.

Nwosu explained that the robbers came at about 1.50am and after smashing the glass window and breaking the burglary proof of the house at Bale Street, Bashorun Ogundairo Estate, jumped inside the sitting room.

Nwosu said he heard a loud sound and when he went to the parlour, the robbers pointed guns at him.

The DMD said one of them pointed a pistol while the other pointed an AK-47 rifle at him. He said there was nothing he could do because he could not fight people with guns.

He said they slapped him and kicked him several times before ordering him to lie down on the floor.

He said they were stepping on his body as they demanded for money but unfortunately, he had no money in the house.

Nwosu further said the miscreants held his wife and took her to several rooms in search of cash but when they found out that there was no money in the house, they were enraged and decided to blindfold him.

He said they pushed him outside and later brought him back to the room and abducted his wife, adding that they flogged him with horsewhip.

He said as they were leaving, they asked if he could remember his phone number by heart and he said yes. They told him to call it, after which they said he would hear from them.

He said they took away two phones, laptop and other things but the third phone was covered by some items which prevented them from seeing it.

“The robbers were making funny demand of N100 million. We are still negotiating. They said they will call back , so I’m still waiting for them to call back. The robbers escaped in a speedboat through the waterway”, he said.

Read More: leadership

Wife Of Newspaper Editor Abducted

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Toyin Nwosu, the wife of former Editor of Sun Newspaper, Steve Nwosu, was abducted early Monday from their home in the Okota area of Lagos State.

Mr Nwosu, who serves as an Executive Director of the newspaper, told journalists that the abductors were yet to make contact with the family as at the time of this report.

In 2012, Mr Nwosu was shot in the head by people suspected to be armed robbers. He was lucky as the bullet grazed his scalp.

Read More: dailytimes

Dickson’s Aide Abducted By Gunmen In Bayelsa

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Gunmen have abducted the Special Adviser to Bayelsa State Governor on Political Matters, Mr. Fyneman Wilson, in the state.

Wilson was abducted in the early hours of Wednesday in Sagbama Local Government Area of the state. The abducted top aide in Dickson’s government is a kinsman of the governor.

It was learnt that the Special Adviser was abducted around 4pm on Wednesday by five gunmen.

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Abducted Ex Gov’s Wife Released On “N8.2 Million Ransom”

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Martha Binabo, the kidnapped wife of the former acting governor of Bayelsa, Nestor Binabo, has been released.
Ms. Binabo, abducted on June 29, was freed on Sunday.

A family source who wished to be anonymous said on Sunday that the woman was handed over to a negotiator at Buguma area of Rivers in the early hours of Sunday.

According to the source, the family complied with the kidnappers warning not to involve the police. The kidnappers gave their victim N18,000 for transport and a big fish when she was released. They reportedly told their victim to prepare pepper soup for her husband with the fish.

It was gathered that a ransom of N8.2 million was paid to secure her freedom. The spokesperson of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Astimin Butswat, who confirmed the development, said the command is yet to get full details on her release.

Read More: premiumtimesng

Three-Year-Old Abducted In Lagos Rescued In Ogun

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The three-year-old girl, Oluwabunmi Ajelero that was abducted on Sunday at the Surulere Baptist Church, Ojuelegba Road, Lagos State, has been rescued. The girl was said to have been kidnapped by two unidentified men who sneaked into the church premises while the girl was playing with other children at about 1pm.

Oluwabunmi’s parents and other members of the church were inside the church immersed in the service when the incident happened.

The Lagos Police spokesperson, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said Olawunmi was rescued by a police team drawn from divisions in the state, adding that he was not aware that the family paid any ransom.

Read More: Punch

Sokoto Governor’s Brother Abducted By Unknown Gunmen

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Unknown gunmen on Wednesday evening kidnapped Salihu Barade, the younger brother of Sokoto state governor, Aliyu Wamakko, security officials in the state said.

Our sources said the gunmen, numbering about four, swopped on Mr. Barade in his farm in Wamakko local government area and whisked him away in company with other people.

Reports further gathered say that the kidnappers later freed those that were kidnapped with the governors brother after travelling a reasonable distance with them.

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Gwoza Escapee Says Women & Girls Are Trapped, Read Full Account Of The Story

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A 38-year-old woman (names withheld), who escaped from Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, Monday, said yesterday that hundreds of women kidnapped by Boko Haram sect were still trapped and kept in various houses in the town.

She said since the insurgents captured the town, many women and young girls, numbering over 100, had been relocated from Sambisa Forest, were brought in by the sect and kept in Gwoza.

Gwoza, about 250km south of Maiduguri, the state capital, was declared Islamic caliphate by Shekau immediately after taking over the town, with over 50 policemen still missing and scores of residents dead.

Narrating her ordeal to journalists in one of the Internally Displaced Persons Camps, IDPs, in Maiduguri, the escapee said they were kept in one of the beautiful houses in Gwoza, along with some young girls brought in from Sambisa Forest by the sect.

‘My escape’

On how she escaped from Gwoza, she said: “There was a loud bang, suspected to be a bomb explosion, near our house. It forced us to break the wall and escape, while two of the young girls died.

“Two others also sustained injuries during the blasts and shooting that engulfed the town. As I speak with you now, many of these young girls and women are still trapped in Gwoza.”

The woman said she later found herself before former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna, in Madagali, who assisted her by calling her brother in Yola.

The mother of five noted that she was happy in Maiduguri, where she met her husband, who had earlier escaped, doing fine in one of the IDP camps, although she did not say anything about the whereabouts of her children.

She said: “I thank God for saving my life from the hands of Boko Haram. We have been under their control in the last three months; they kept us with many young girls.

“They gave us food every day, but they did not allow us to go out. Sometimes the leader will go round all the places and preach their ideology to us.”

Credit: vanguardngr

Amaechi’s Aide Abducted in Rally

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Gunmen have abducted the anchorman to Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi events, Freddy Ndigbara in Port-harcourt, Rivers State capital. Ndigbara was said to have been whisked away on Sunday by hoodlums in Kaani Community, Khana Local Government Area of the state.

He was said to have been accosted and forced him into a waiting car by the gunmen during a ward rally organised by the All Progressives Congress in the area.

Eye witness account said the hoodlums stormed the rally with a red Toyota Highlander sports utility vehicle, made a quick search for their target before forcing him into the car and immediately sped off to an unknown destination.

Read More: Punch